Low Income Public Housing

Low Income Public Housing is a federally assisted rental assistance program. It is project based and requires a household to live in housing owned by Olmsted County. The OCHRA manages a total of 110 two, three and four bedroom housing units (20 single family houses and 90 townhouse units). A partial inventory of LIPH properties can be accessed by the link on the left. All households pay 30% of their income for rent and utilities. Rent is paid to the OCHRA.

To be placed on the waiting list for LIPH, a prospective tenant must complete a Rental Assistance Pre-Application form (383 KB pdf). The form can be printed from the link provided. Pre-applications are also available in Rochester at the OCHRA office, Salvation Army, Community Action Program (CAP), and the Women's Shelter. Completed forms must be submitted to the OCHRA office. All three pages of the form must be completed.

If eligible, the applicant is placed on a waiting list for a unit appropriate for their household size. The order of the list is based on the date and time the pre-application was received at the OCHRA office. The OCHRA is required to target 40% of new admissions to families whose income is at or below 30% of local median.

LIPH tenants are responsible for paying their own utilities. A utility allowance is established for each type of unit by address.

The Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy for the Public Housing Program (26.8 MB) effective January 1, 2013.

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) oversees all agencies managing LIPH. HUD requires each agency to have an Agency Plan. The Plan is a checklist that demonstrates an agency fulfills the requirements listed for both the LIPH and Housing Choice Voucher program. HUD uses the Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) to annually rate an agency's performance. Seven elements are reviewed and rated. OCHRA has received no less than a standard rating since the system was established in 1999.